There are some universal products that can be found in every household. You probably even have some of these or multiple versions in your own house. Everyday items like stick deodorants, lip balms, crayons and candles are found in every household. We all use them, but do you ever consider how these products are packaged?
While an end product like a deodorant, balm, or even a candle are finished in a solid sense, they are actually packaged by liquid filling machines. These solid products begin as warmed “molten liquids” and then cooled into the products that we use every day with modern packaging machines.
Among the many packaging processes that make manufacturing easier and more efficient, liquid filling is one of those most crucial. Here are a few key components to molten fillers.
What are “Molten Liquids”?
The term, “molten liquids”, refers to products that take a liquid form when heated at a certain temperature. In the packaging industry, a molten liquid product can be candle, lip balm, crayon, stick deodorant, and many other similarly styled products. Although these products are solid when sold and used, they are warmed until somewhat free-flowing and then poured into their packaging mold or container as a hot liquid.
Then, during the packaging process, these liquids cool inside their packaging until they form the solid products that we know and use. This process occurs on a cooling conveyor, which gives the product the time to reach a lower temperature that will not interfere with the rest of the packaging process, i.e. capping, labeling/etc.
Molten Filling
If you follow FILAMATIC you already know that liquid filling machines are used across a range of industries in a variety of ways. Different metering systems, liquid filling solutions and
associated tools exist for different applications. Molten filling can be common in the personal care industry for products such as stick deodorants and other personal care items. Especially when they have a high viscosity rating (centipoise) and don’t flow easily without being heated up.
Basic liquid science tells us when you heat a liquid product, it flows more easily. Additionally, molten liquid filling machines can be used in a variety of industries beyond personal care. We have seen the cosmetics, food and beverage, healthcare, chemical, and veterinary industries have various uses for molten fillers.
Packaging Pucks
An often used tool in liquid filling systems with hard to handle containers are packaging pucks, but these can be incredibly helpful as well in molten filling applications. Packaging pucks are devices used to stabilize odd or oblong-shaped containers or bottles. These types of container handling systems are certainly used for stick deodorant styled containers. For example, so these somewhat hard to handle containers can be quickly, accurately and safely filled, capped, and labeled without tipping over on a conveying system. Narrow, thin lip balm type containers are other products that benefit from this type of container handling system as it travels down the conveyor line.
Be Cool: Capping and Labeling
Once the product has spent enough time on the cooling conveyor, it transitions to the capping and labeling stages of the process. The product must be filled at the right temperature, but also cooled properly so that capping and labeling operation can be executed/packaged properly.
The liquid must be cooled to the desired level so that the heated product does not interfere by still expanding or damaging the container. This ensures that the cap will seal reliably and not get stuck and that the label will be applied consistently to every package.
In addition, you want the labeling stage to be successfully, accurately applied so there’s less rejects at the end of the process solely due to poor finishing/poor end packaging. The proper liquid filling process is crucial to creating consistent and recognizable packaging.
Without molten fillers, everyday products like stick deodorants, candles, crayons, lip balms and a whole host of other every day items would be significantly less convenient to purchase and use.
For over 70 years, FILAMATIC has provided a wide range of molten filling machines to the liquid packaging market. We create flexible, customized solutions for every stage of your business growth. Whether you require a single semi-automatic machine, a complete inline turnkey solution, or a fully-automated Monobloc system, we have the liquid filling experience to exceed your expectations.
For more information on our liquid filling machines, please call 866.258.1914 or visit – www.filamatic.com/contact-us.